Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-11-29

When Mackaye had demonstrated bis com
plete power over the animal, he withdrew ms
arm, closed the wicket and began upon the
outside of the cage quietly irritating system
of gestures In an incredibly short space or
time the serpent had thrown himself into his
concentric attitude of defiance, his rattle was
vibrating and he was a picture ofsdanger
that made us all stand back and hold our
breath.
But imagine my wretchedness that night
in Mackaye's house at Stamford. l was given
a luxurious chamber. l knew that my door
was locked and satisfied myself before retir-
ing that the eighteen foot boa had not by
some inadvertence crawled into my room. |
felt sure that he was securely boxed and in
the cellar. And yet l started out of sleep
with an invincible dread
Every sense fooled me. / heard the slow,
dire, inevitable motion Of that spinal body
upon the newspaper that had dropped upon
the floor. | saw in the shadows the uplifted
head and forked tongue. caught the odor,
which sichened me. felt the touch of the
cold, writing coils. And all this was accom-
panied by the consciousness that it was moth
ing but my own imagination.
Well, pride and feeling Of shame at my
own childishness or effeminacy made me en-
deavor to familiarize myself with the reptile
during the week that was in the house.
tried very hard to fight down my instructive
antipathies and get up personal acquaint-
ance. might as well say at once that / ut
terry failed.
CRUSHED By BOA.
Some months afterward / cut from the
London papers an account OF the sudden and
terrible death of a snake exhibitor at Bonn
bay, and took it to Mackaye. This man had
been for years performing in public with
enormous constructors, which he coiled round
his body One day, while on the stage of the
Bombay theatre, encircled by the folds Of
tremendous boa, the audience heard cry Of
pain, and the man with his load of snake
staggered and fell over upon the floor. There
was mulfled report as of many bones crack
ing.
At the post norton he was found to have
suffered two hundred and sixty fractures.
That" remarked, sis terrible example
of the danger of fooling with the ophidians."
at is" said MacBaye, "a terrible example
of the carelessness of exhibitors 1t was his
own fault"
Chow sop
'FWhy, he forgot to examine his clothing
before he coiled the serpent round his body
and something irritated the animal. Ii they
had examined the boa they would have found
an abrasion or cut, perhaps caused by pin.
At the sudden irritation he exerted his whole
constructive force, which was capable Of
crushing an OK"
mice dynamic playthings," I remarked,
s'steel springs and lightning"
"Yes,n said Mackaye, ''you have to know
how to handle steel springs and lightning. l
had q similar experience with my pet"
Similar, do you sayr
''Yes. he was coiled around the wicker chair
you used to sit in, and l was writing. The
door into the passage on the other side Of the
room was ajar. and Tabby came lazily in,
with her tail straight up in the air. heard
a report like pistol and the door was
slammed suddenly shut Talk about frac
lures don't think there was piece Of that
chair left that WAS six inches long. He just
pulvcrized it, and shot himself against that
door like thunderbolt. 1t was the cat, you
say! Nonsense, it was a splinter of that chair.
[ found a cut in his skin en- inch and half
long"
"What did you do with your pet?"
Lost him. 1t was n COMPOUNDED shame. l
left him in box in the cellar when | went
to Boston to lecture, and my men forgot the
blankets. Ny snake was frozen stiff. L
could have revived him if l had got back III
time, but the boys chopped him up in cord
wood lengths and buried HIM. "-Nym Crinkle
in New York World.